Imagining Positive Climate Futures Through Public Art: The Envision Resilience Mural Project, Part 1

After working with New Bedford Creative and Love the Ave, Ethan Moyer edited his original submission from the fall of 2023 to reflect the wishes of North End residents, including translating "Envision Resilience" into Spanish and Portuguese as well as adding iconic North End buildings to the design. This design will be turned into a mural in August.

By Charlotte Van Voorhis

Ethan's early sketches based on the Envision Resilience assignment. Feedback encouraged Ethan to move forward with #3.

A young man holding a pair of binoculars to his face looks out into the future with waves reflecting off the lenses. His hair, representing dynamic ocean waves, spills over slightly into his face and splashes upwards, where  New Bedford’s iconic North End buildings rise. The young man’s face has a soft smile and his demeanor seems to suggest a sense of ease as the words, “Envision Resilience” float overhead. This image will soon adorn the north-facing side of New Bedford’s North End Stereo Building at 1200 Acushnet Ave. 

The illustrator, Ethan Moyer (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth ‘26) designed this piece in fall 2023 for Professor Jess Worby’s course “Comics, Illustration and the Marketplace,” which wove the Envision Resilience Challenge into its syllabus to give students a taste of working with a client as a freelance artist. Ethan used the Envision Resilience website and the directive to imagine an inclusive, adaptive future for a community grappling with rising sea levels and climate impacts to create his final design. He worked with the Envision Resilience team and his classmates to incorporate their feedback and refine his work over the course of the semester.

Left: Ethan’s final submission to the Envision Resilience Challenge, Dec 2023. Right: Ethan’s edits to the mural design, created by working with New Bedford Creative.

After its final submission, Ethan’s design impressed not only the Envision Resilience team but also community members in the North End, who wanted to see a mural painted on Acushnet Avenue to celebrate their culture, heritage and leadership. Several student graphics were shared for review. After voting on a number of designs, business owners and community stakeholders all along Acushnet Avenue selected Ethan’s design and the Envision Resilience Mural Project was born.

This mural would not be possible without the partnership of local community organizers and leaders dedicated to the longevity and resilience of their community including  MassDevelopment TDI, Love the Ave, New Bedford Creative and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Project managers at New Bedford Creative are in the process of selecting a muralist, who will work with Ethan’s design to transfer it from an illustration on a screen to a mural in the community. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this story to learn more about the muralist and their work!

The public will be  invited to join in a celebration of the Envision Resilience Mural Project’s installation at a date to be announced in August.